The capital of France, on the Seine River; pop. 2,175,000. Paris was held by the Romans, who called it Lutetia, and by the Franks, and was established as the capital in 987 under Hugh Capet. It was organized into three parts—the Ile de la Cite (an island in the Seine), the Right Bank, and the Left Bank—during the reign of Philippe-Auguste 1180–1223. The city's neoclassical architecture dates from the modernization of the Napoleonic era, which continued under Napoleon III, when the bridges and boulevards of the modern city were built

the capital and largest city of France; and international center of culture and commerce

sometimes placed in subfamily Trilliaceae

(Greek mythology) the prince of Troy who abducted Helen from her husband Menelaus and provoked the Trojan War

WallMonkeys wall graphics are printed on the highest quality re-positionable, self-adhesive fabric paper. Each order is printed in-house and on-demand. WallMonkeys uses premium materials & state-of-the-art production technologies. Our white fabric material is superior to vinyl decals. You can literally see and feel the difference. Our wall graphics apply in minutes and won't damage your paint or leave any mess. PLEASE double check the size of the image you are ordering prior to clicking the 'ADD TO CART' button. Our graphics are offered in a variety of sizes and prices. WallMonkeys are intended for indoor use only. Printed on-demand in the United States Your order will ship within 3 business days, often sooner. Some orders require the full 3 days to allow dark colors and inks to fully dry prior to shipping. Quality is worth waiting an extra day for! Removable and will not leave a mark on your walls. 'Fotolia' trademark will be removed when printed. Our catalog of over 10 million images is perfect for virtually any use: school projects, trade shows, teachers classrooms, colleges, nurseries, college dorms, event planners, and corporations of all size.

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Palais de l'Élysée (Élysée Palace), Paris, France

The Elysee Palace (Palais de l'Elysee) is the official residence of the President of the French Republic, containing his office, and is where the Council of Ministers meets. It is located near the Champs-Elysees in Paris.The Elysee has gardens, in which the president hosts a party on the afternoon of Bastille Day.

The architect Armand-Claude Mollet possessed a property fronting on the road to the village of Roule, west of Paris (now the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore), and backing onto royal property, the Grand Cours through the Champs-Elysees. He sold this in 1718 to Louis Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, comte d'Evreux (families: ducs and princes de Bouillon et Sedan: de la Marck | von der Marck), with the agreement that Mollet would construct an hotel particulier for the count, fronted by an entrance court and backed by a garden. The Hotel d'Evreux was finished and decorated by 1722, and though it has undergone many modifications since, it remains a fine example of the French classical style. At the time of his death in 1753, Evreux was the owner of one of the most widely admired houses in Paris, and it was bought by King Louis XV as a residence for the Marquise de Pompadour, his mistress. Opponents showed their distaste for the regime by hanging signs on the gates that read: "Home of the King's whore". After her death, it reverted to the crown.In 1773, it was purchased by Nicolas Beaujon, banker to the Court and one of the richest men in France, who needed a suitably sumptuous "country house" (for the city of Paris did not yet extend this far) to house his fabulous collection of great masters paintings. To this end, he hired the architect Etienne-Louis Boullee to make substantial alterations to the buildings (as well as design an English-style garden). Soon on display there were such well-known masterpieces as Holbein's The Ambassadors (now in the National Gallery in London), and Frans Hals' Bohemian (now at the Louvre). His architectural alterations and art galleries gave this residence international renown as "one of the premier houses of Paris".The palace and gardens were purchased from Beaujon by Bathilde, duchesse de Bourbon in 1787 for 1,300,000 livres. It was the Duchess who named it the Elysee. She also built a group of cottages in the gardens which she named the Hameau de Chantilly, after the Hameau at her Chateau de Chantilly. With the French Revolution, the Duchess fled the country and the Elysee was confiscated. It was leased out. The gardens were used for eating, drinking, and dancing, under the name Hameau de Chantilly; and the rooms became gambling houses.In 1803, the Elysee was sold to Joachim Murat, and in 1808, to the Emperor, and it became known as the Elysee-Napoleon. After the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon returned to the Elysee, signed his abdication there on 22 June 1815, and left the Elysee on the 25th.Russian Cossacks camped at the Elysee when they occupied Paris in 1814.Though it was first officially used by the government of Napoleon Bonaparte, the Hotel d'Evreux was formally purchased for Louis XVIII in 1816. Under the provisional government of the Second Republic, it took the name of the Elysee National and was designated the official residence of the President of the Republic. (The President also has the use of several other official residences, including the Chateau de Rambouillet, forty five kilometres southwest of Paris, and the Fort de Bregancon near Marseille.)

In 1853, following his coup d'etat that ended the Second Republic, Napoleon III charged the architect Joseph-Eugene Lacroix with renovations; meanwhile he moved to the nearby Tuileries Palace, but kept the Elysee as a discreet place to meet his mistresses, moving between the two palaces through a secret underground passage that has since been demolished. Since Lacroix completed his work in 1867, the essential look of the Palais de l'Elysee has remained the same.In 1873, during the Third Republic, The Elysee became the official presidential residence.In 1917, an orangutan escaped from a nearby menagerie, entered the palace and was said to have tried to haul the wife of President Raymond Poincare into a tree only to be foiled by Elysee guards. President Paul Deschanel, who resigned in 1920 because of mental illness, was said to have been so impressed by the orangutan's feat that, to the alarm of his guests, he took to jumping into trees during state receptions.

The Elysee Palace was closed in June 1940, and remained empty during World War II. It was reoccupied only in 1946 by Vincent Auriol, President of the Provisional Government, then first President of the Fourth Republic from 1947 to 1954.Between 1959 and 1969, the Elysee was occupied by Charles de Gaulle, the first President of the Fifth Republic. De Gaulle did not like its lack of privacy, and oversaw the purchase of the luxurious Hotel de Marigny to lodge foreign State officials in visit to France, saying, "I do not l

59 Rivoli, Paris

59 Rue de Rivoli in Paris

59 Rivoli stands for the idea of what Art ought to be. Enter this liberal space, where artists show their works and share their lives. A must-see in Paris.

Sometimes alternative culture and big audiences find a meeting point, and this is the case: the well-known artists' squat in the heart of the city of Paris is back and going at full speed.

In 1999, when the so-called KGB ( a trio composed by three artists: Kalex, Gaspard and Bruno) occupied this building left abandoned by the bank Credit Lyonnais, on Rue de Rivoli, they could not imagine it was to become one of the most popular art spots in the whole French country. But it did.

The squat, at first named "Chez Robert, eletron libre", was closed in 2006 by the municipal government, in order to be restored and secured. It re-opened in September 2009, this time legally charged by Paris City Hall. Despite the loss of the guilty pleasure visitors might feel while going illicit, the new "Aftersquat" (as it is now called) keeps attracting thousands of people.Hidden Treasure On Rue De Rivoli

Walking down the rue Rivoli, it is almost impossible to miss this white, weirdly decorated, multifloor palace. Its wide open door welcomes passers-by in. Some artists would be probably sitting back at the entrance, talking to guests or just enjoying a cigarette break, as an extra attraction.

At a glance, everything seems worthy a visit, and at least, it's all free!

WallMonkeys wall graphics are printed on the highest quality re-positionable, self-adhesive fabric paper. Each order is printed in-house and on-demand. WallMonkeys uses premium materials & state-of-the-art production technologies. Our white fabric material is superior to vinyl decals. You can literally see and feel the difference. Our wall graphics apply in minutes and won't damage your paint or leave any mess. PLEASE double check the size of the image you are ordering prior to clicking the 'ADD TO CART' button. Our graphics are offered in a variety of sizes and prices. WallMonkeys are intended for indoor use only. Printed on-demand in the United States Your order will ship within 3 business days, often sooner. Some orders require the full 3 days to allow dark colors and inks to fully dry prior to shipping. Quality is worth waiting an extra day for! Removable and will not leave a mark on your walls. 'Fotolia' trademark will be removed when printed. Our catalog of over 10 million images is perfect for virtually any use: school projects, trade shows, teachers classrooms, colleges, nurseries, college dorms, event planners, and corporations of all size.